Recovery
by Secret Staircase
Summary: Kei's not sure how to help Mio after Mayu disappears, and Mio's not sure she wants him to.


Kei wasn't at all sure what to do with Mio.

There were all the usual things, of course: give her space and privacy, don't press her with questions. Sound advice for dealing with a teenage girl or someone grieving; doubly sound, since she was both.

Still, he felt there ought to be more. Something of comfort or wisdom he could offer as her uncle. If there was something, he couldn't think of it, but he did know what his sister did in difficult times: cooked. It might comfort Mio to have someone doing the things her mother did. So Kei cooked.

The first night, when the twins had come to stay, Mio had offered to make dinner, thinking most men would probably expect it of women living in the house. Both girls had been surprised when Kei said he was a good cook – even more surprised when it turned out to be true. From then on, he cooked, and they didn't discuss it.

Now Mio was back from the hospital, alone, he cooked the best things in his repertoire. Mio unpacked and came downstairs to a table covered with more dishes than two people could possibly eat. She gave a little smile – weak, but the first since she'd been found and Mayu hadn't. Kei took it as encouragement.

He did want to ask her about Mayu, but it wouldn't do any good. Other than that it was not difficult to give her time to herself. She was reclusive, and he had his research to do.

He left the study door open as he worked, to show her that he was available if she wanted to discuss anything. Each morning he would ask her how she was feeling, and made it clear that he cared about the answer. He let her feel at home, didn't stop her from occasionally tidying up and didn't complain when she occasionally left things out of place. They visited Shizu in hospital nearly every day. And he cooked.

* * *

'I'm going on a trip today,' he said one morning over breakfast. 'A colleague of mine mentioned a ruined village out in the mountains, and I think it might be relevant to my research. Would you like to... come?' His voice faded as he remembered she had been lost out in the mountains, but she had already nodded.

'It'll be boring for you, probably,' he said. 'Just me taking notes. Don't say yes just to be polite.'

'I don't want to be alone yet,' she admitted.

After that, he couldn't leave her.

* * *

It was a long drive up the mountains. They listened to the radio until the reception became too bad, and Mio leaned her head against the window, looking out at the forest. Kei drove, quiet – not awkwardly silent, but the gentle quietness of his presence that was so restful to her after all the questions everybody else had asked.

She wasn't going to tell him what had happened. That was her burden. Nobody else should have to know what she knew, that the world wasn't safe, that it was full of dark places where the dead wouldn't lie still. But if there were anybody she might have trusted enough to tell, it would have been Kei.

They wound up into the mountains, higher and higher. They had not passed another car for some time, and Mio felt they were leaving the world behind. The dark mountains under the low clouds made her melancholy. It was the middle of summer, but she kept thinking it was going to snow.

'We're here,' said Kei, drawing Mio to look around with more interest. The road ended abruptly, and two narrow tracks led from it.

'Do we have to walk?' she asked.

'It's not far, don't worry. Are you hungry? I did bring lunch...'

But Mio wasn't listening. There was somebody standing on the right-hand path, just where it curved out of sight. A slim, small person in brown.

Mayu.

But as Mio stepped onto the path, the girl turned and disappeared out of sight.

'Mio? Is everything all right?'

'I saw...' She couldn't say it. 'I thought I saw a... some sort of animal. It's not there now. Are we going this way?'

Kei looked down at the map, which was hand-drawn on a torn notebook page. 'There's only one path marked on this map. Maybe they join up eventually.' He glanced at Mio and smiled encouragingly. 'How adventurous do you feel?'

Not at all. To risk getting lost again, lost in the forest...

But Mayu...

That same feeling was coming over her as in the village, a sick, feverish urgency that could keep her going without sleep or food or hope. Her stomach was churning, her skin felt raw, but her hands were quite steady and her shoulders were squared as she said,

'Let's go.'

After walking for nearly an hour through deeper and deeper forest, they came upon a small lake in a clearing, where the path ended. Kei looked crestfallen.

'I think we might have come the wrong way.'

'It's quite pretty, anyway,' Mio said to reassure him. 'We can always...' Her voice trailed off. The small figure in brown was there again, walking through the trees on the opposite shore. 'Do you see – ?'

'What?'

But the figure was gone. Mio noticed something else. 'It looks like there's a building over there.' She could see what looked like a roof with blue tiles.

Kei brightened. 'I think you're right!'

There was no path of any sort leading to the house, not even a track, so they had to make their way through the undergrowth, ducking trees and staying close to the water. Once Kei slipped and got wet up to the knee, but Mio was too uneasy to laugh with him.

'Are you all right?' Kei asked, carefully keeping his tone light as he held up a branch for her to duck under.

'Mm-hm.' She avoided his eyes, concentrating on walking. Part of her was glad Kei was with her – his calm optimism, his concern for her – but the other part wanted to be alone, like she had been in the lost village. She was meant to do this alone.

The building was in ruins. It looked as though it had once been very grand, but it had been abandoned for a long time.

Kei had his notebook out already. 'Now that I think about it, my friend did say something about a big house near the village, but he didn't have time to explore it. But it would be much more relevant to the urban legend if...'

Mio stiffened. 'What urban legend?' She didn't like urban legends, not any more.

'The Manor of Sleep,' said Kei, distracted with his notes. 'People are supposed to have dreams about some sort of manor house, where they can meet the dead.'

'And can they?' Mio's mouth was dry.

Kei looked up at her sharply. 'Mio?'

She was so tired. 'Let's just look round and go. I want to go home.'

'We can – '

'We came all this way!' She heard her voice rise. She was snapping at him and it wasn't his fault, which made her feel even worse. 'We might as well look now we're here.'

Kei let her lead the way, probably so he could keep an eye on her, but she didn't mind that. Inside, the building was cool and shadowy, swimming in vague light like somewhere underwater. Dirt and leaves lay undisturbed on the floor among the broken bits of wood.

Nobody was here. Nobody had been here in a very long time. Mio didn't think she'd ever want to explore abandoned buildings again, but Kei was enjoying himself digging through what looked like the remains of a chest of drawers, so she wandered to the broken staircase. She wasn't very heavy and it felt strong enough to hold her weight.

'Be careful,' Kei called.

'It's quite sturdy,' Mio said, testing every step thoroughly before she let it support her. 'How old do you think this place is?'

'More than a hundred years,' he said, 'and probably a lot more, but that's not my area. I'd have to check with a friend.'

There was nothing much upstairs, just a doorway and a bit of a room; the rest had fallen away. Underneath, back on the ground floor, she could see a bit of a corridor through the broken boards. She was just turning away when movement caught her eye, something down below. This time she was close enough to be sure. It was Mayu.

She stifled her shout, pressing both hands to her mouth. There was darkness crowding in on her.

She turned and hurried back to the staircase, running down too fast; the third from the bottom gave way and sent her sprawling.

Kei was at her side in an instant. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt?'

She sat up carefully. 'I think I twisted my ankle.' Her voice sounded thin and shaky, but she hoped he'd attribute it to the fall. 'Sorry, you did warn me to be careful.'

He put a hand on her shoulder. 'What's wrong? Ever since we arrived on the mountain I've felt you're not telling me something.'

If there were anyone she could trust...

She took a deep breath. 'I've been... seeing things. I've been...'

But Kei was holding something in his other hand. Something with a dusty gleam of brass, black bellows, a lens...

Mio pulled back from his touch as if it burned her. 'Where did you get that?'

'What?'

She pointed. She could see her hand shaking. 'That.'

'I found it in a pile of rubbish over there. It's broken.'

Mio pulled herself to her feet; her ankle hurt, but didn't give as she retreated. 'Get it away from me,' she said. 'I don't want to see it. Get it away.'

Kei looked bewildered. 'Mio...'

She was drowning. She couldn't breathe. She was drowning in a dark place. The village was still there, under the water.

She brought up her hands to cover her face. Somebody was sobbing, whimpering, making such terrified sounds that she wished she could comfort them, but she knew it was really her and she didn't want to be comforted. This misery was only what she deserved for living.

Kei didn't see it that way. He didn't understand that it was her punishment. He put his arms around her and held her tightly until the suffering noises had stopped and she felt calmer. She didn't ask him what he'd done with the camera; she hoped he'd thrown it away, but if he hadn't she didn't want to know.

'Please,' she said, 'please can we go home now?'

'Of course. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here.'

She didn't answer. As they left he kept his arm around her shoulders, steadying her. She was too tired not to accept his help.

As they drove it started to rain heavily, and didn't stop all afternoon. At home Mio sat in her room staring at the walls until dinner time. As usual, Kei had gone out of his way to make something delicious, but she couldn't eat it. She hoped he wouldn't be insulted.

After a few bites, Kei put down his chopsticks with a sigh. 'Okay. I wanted to wait and let you talk to me in your own time, but after today... Please, will you tell me what's going on? I just want to help.'

She knew that. That was all he wanted. He was probably the only person in the world who could really do something to help her, and she couldn't let him. She didn't deserve it.

When she didn't answer he scooted round the table and took her hand. 'Will you trust me?'

'I do.'

'Then why won't you tell me what happened? I promise, even if you think it was your fault...'

She kept her head down. 'It was my fault.'

'It wasn't. Whatever it was – '

'But you don't know, do you?' She looked up at him. 'You don't know what I did. So thank you, but I'm tired, and I'm going to bed now.'

He didn't try to stop her. She could feel his gaze on her back as she left.

That night she dreamed of the old house in the mountains. It was not a ruin in her dream. The way was lit by candles that flickered as snow fell around them, but they never went out, and the snow never settled. From inside she could hear a song, and a strange, rhythmic ringing, like chimes. She knew that Mayu was inside, waiting, the way she'd waited underground in the Lost Village. This time, Mio wouldn't betray her. This time she'd keep her promise.

When she woke up it hurt, a deep, piercing ache that curled around her neck like strangling hands, and she knew she was being punished.

After that it was too late to tell Kei anything.

* * *

Mio woke in unfamiliar surroundings, with the sense that time had passed. At first her eyes could only make out a diffuse white blur, but eventually they adjusted and she found herself in a hospital. She didn't remember coming here.

Across the room a nurse was reading a clipboard; she gasped and nearly dropped it when Mio tried to speak to her. Blushing, she apologised and admitted that Mio had been asleep for nearly a week, and nobody had really expected her to wake up.

Mio sat up, feeling the heaviness of sleep, but no pain. The tattoos were gone.

'Is my uncle here?'

The nurse shook her head, but promised to call him and let him know Mio was awake. After she was gone, Mio lay back, alone, examining what she could see of her body. Nothing but skin, unmarked. Was it over?

* * *

Kei found her already dressed, tucking into some candy from the vending machines. For a moment he couldn't speak. He hugged her and this time she hugged him back, just as tightly.

It didn't take long to finish the paperwork that allowed her to leave the hospital. They didn't speak much until they were alone in the car; there was a lot to say, but it was private and strange. They didn't want anybody listening.

Before Mio could ask anything, Kei reached into his bag. 'I've got something to show you.' He handed her the photograph that Rei had given him: two girls in a cell. 'This came from the Manor; don't ask how, I don't understand either. But I know that when I took this photograph, I could only see you.'

Mio's mouth began to tremble. 'But I thought...'

'Mayu is still with you. Yuu and Mafuyu are still with me. And even if they weren't, even if the dead really just disappear and leave us, you're still not alone, Mio.'

He gave her a moment to wipe her eyes.

'Would you mind if we visited some friends of mine before we go home?' he asked.

'Who?'

'Their names are Miku and Rei. They dreamed the same dreams we did. You see... we were all so focused on the people in the Manor that we were chasing. We just looked for those people, but we never looked to see if anyone was behind us, or beside us. The truth is, we don't have to go through this alone.'

Mio nodded. 'Okay. Let's visit your friends. And after that, when we get home... I'll tell you what happened to Mayu.'

Kei smiled and started the car as Mio leaned back in her seat. Outside, the rain had stopped.


End file.
